Pilgrimage to the New York Westchester & Boston

Here are a few more pictures:

 

Peter

Hey Peter;

 

Do you know if the NY, NH & H took over any of the trackage of the NY, W & B?  Looking at the route map going up to Port Chester, a lot of those station stops are/were on the Stamford Local route.

Chuck, the NH's ROW was already in place and they were side by side from New Rochelle on up

In New Rochelle, the Thruway eventually took over what was the ROW. I'm not sure about Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Harrison, Rye or Port Chester.  Someone may know and can comment. One day I should go over historicl topographic maps and see for myself.

 

In Larchmont Gardens the station became the local Girl Scout headquarters.  I believe the Port Chester terminus is a car dealership.

 

Skip, aka NYC Fan, is also a big fan of this RR. Skip, if you're out there, anything more on Chuck's question?

 

Peter

 

When I was a kid we often went toWilson’s pool, a municipal swimming pool inMount Vernon,NY. We would take the bus and get off atSouth Columbus AvenueandBeechwood Avenue. The walk alongBeechwood Avenueruns parallel to the New Haven Railroad. Along this walk we could see this high concrete abutment that had supported a viaduct for the NY Westchester & Boston Railroad. Looking up fromBeechwood Avenuetoday the site looks the same as it did 60years ago.

 

This viaduct at one time crossed over at high level a few streets and connected the NY Westchester & Boston Columbus Avenue station to theEast Third Streetstation.  At this time in the early 1950s all the steel work for tracks, bridges, viaducts, and centenary had been removed. I believe it was all used as scrap for the war effort.

 

When we saw this massive concrete structure and the walls of this station, it had to be explored. So we made our way to the right of way and explored the structure. The platforms, track bed, stairways, and a platform connecting tunnel that went under the four track mainline were all still in existence and in pretty good shape.  At this time in the early 1950’s the railroad was not been operational for about 13-15 years.

 

I remember noticing the concrete duct work that carried cables between the tracks and walking through the under track tunnel that allowed crossing from one platform to the other. Boy was it scary. So being inquisitive young boys we had to continue our journey along the track bed to the next station,East Lincoln Avenue. This was north of theSouth Columbus Avenuestation and was also in pretty good shape. I do not remember exploring that station. It has been long gone and now is the site of apartments.  

 

BetweenSouth Columbus AvenueandLincoln Avenuethe four track main line split in two. Two tracks continued toWhite Plains,NYand two tracks toPortchester,NY. At the split for thePort Chesterbranch there exist two concrete abutments for a bridge that crossed over a local street and one that supported a viaduct over theHutchinson River Parkway. I frequently pass theHutchinson Parkwayabutment and am afraid I may get into an accident by looking at it while driving.    

 

I suggest that you check out the web sites about this railroad that are in the previous posts on this subject.

Thanks for sharing your memories, Bobby.

 

Peter

Just found this great video.

Peter

GREAT VIDEO. STILL REMEMBER SOME OF THOSE CLASSIC STATIONS ON THE MERRIT AND THE HUTCH WHEN GOING TO MANHATTAN.

 ALSO WEREN'T THE COACHES THEY RAN STILLWELL COACHES ?

Yes they were Bill.

My dad grew up in Larchmont and he would take the "Boston & Westchester" to the south Bronx and then catch the subway to Yankee Stadium. He used to deliver groceries as a kid and two of the people he delivered to was were Lou Gerhig and Ed Barrow. They would give him tickets.

 

Peter

My dad told me one of his earliest memories was watching the scrappers dismantle the NYW&B by E. Lincoln Ave.  My grandparents lived in Mount Vernon for a number of years before moving out to Long Island.

Speaking of being with Yankee idols, my daughter surprised me with a trip to meet one of mine!

I never realized that my MU fit so nicely into the Put Division somewhere.

 

http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee91/choochooyugo/?action=view&current=MOV04338.mp4

 

 

DEvotion shown on my wall control display.

Where does this fit. It is a picture of NH along Tremont Ave. by Parkchester with same kinds of paragraphs.

 

 

Or this pic I found somewhere when planning my catenary.

 

 

My Catenary System build process is here.

http://www.jcstudiosinc.com/BlogShowThread?id=808&categoryId=

 

Hugh

Hugh:

 

Since you mentioned the Putnam Division and MU cars, don't forget the lower end of the Put was electrified with third rail at one point. It was used by electric cars running to Yonkers via the Getty Square Branch which left the main at JS Tower in Van Cortlandt Park. Service on the branch ended in 1943.

 

There have been several NYW&B books released over the years. A true gem is "Forgotten Railroads Through Westchester County" authored by Messers Bang, Frank, Kowanski and Vondrak. The book has a 50+ page chapter on the NYW&B. The text is extremely well written and informative. It is accompanied by numerous drawings, maps, reproductions of memorabilia and the best NYW&B photographs I've ever seen.   

 

Bob

PETER,

Great information.I never knew of this railroad till I looked at this post.As a kid growing up  my grandparents lived on Mamaroneck Avenue just a short distance from the Gedney Way station.We would walk down the block to a small playground and I would notice the overpass and remnants of the right of way.This was in the mid 60's and all traces of the rr were gone but I knew it was a former right of way .The area under the overpass was a parking area.Lots of great information,Got lost on all the links for over an hour then saved it too my favorites for future reference.Thanks.

 

          John K

 

PS:taken anything for your York fever?

 

Here are some books on the subject.  I recommend them all......but the one with JP Morgan on the cover primarily covers the financial analysis with minimal railroad discussion.

 

I agree with CNJ 3673. I highly recommend Forgotten RRs through Westchester County for a solid overview of Westchester County railroading.

 

Peter

 

In a recent ERA NY Division Bulletin i added an interesting piece of trivia regarding the NYW&B. I would like to share it with this forum as well. When i was a little boy my father took me somewhere in the Southeast Bronx. As the trolley car passed the abandoned decrepit station on Westchester Ave. (it was bad even then) I asked him what that building was. He told me that it was a station on the old New York Westchester & Boston Railroad. He also informed me that the railroad never made it to Boston and the people in the neighborhood  referred to it as the New York Westchester & Back. I mentioned this to the late Roger Arcara many years ago and a smile came on his face as he told me he had not heard of this for many a year. I did not want this information to be lost.

Nate

Nate.....that is an architectural gem that is fading away. You can catch a glimpse of it as you take Amtrak to/from Boston.  In the South Bronx, the NYW&B shared many stations with the New Haven's Harlem River line.  Except for the decaying Westchester Avenue Station, and the station building at Hunt's Point Avenue, the NYW&B's remnants in the South Bronx are pretty much gone.  In the north and central Bronx, they live as the Dyre Avenue subway (as I said).

 

As an aside, the New Haven ran local service on the Harlem River Line until the early 30s.  There are station platform remnants near Van Ness (close to where the electrical engine service facility was. The large service building is easily seen from the Cross Bronx Expy).  The Morris Park station building can be seen (near St. Raymond's Church). The Eastchester Road station remnant can be seen from Eastchester Road.

 

Along Tremont Avenue, across from Parkchester, Between Unionport Road and St. Raymond's was a NH freight yard where we would buy Christmas trees off the boxcars in December.

 

Peter

I think its rather interesting that the Stillwell design car was supplied to the Westchester while New Havens initial electric cars were a much differrent design with open platforms. When the New Haven gained control, the Stillwell design for the Westchester was modified to accommodate the 11000volt AC supply system and the quill drive motors. One could ask also why Stillwell designs were not used on the New Haven as well? Seemed like a more modern looking car with closed vestibules.

Perhaps there might be sufficient demand to justify Sunset/3rd Rail building an O scale brass model of a NYW&B Stillwell MU? I'd add one to my roster for sure. 

 

Bob 

As much as I like the NYW&B I would rather see the Stillwell cars in Erie

Peter . . . 

 

Great thread !!

 

See you at Yawk !

 

Hey Chuck

Just noticed this  Is that Bobby Richardson?   Does the scoreboard at the museum say BAllantine on the bottom?

The NYW&B cars were produced in O scale along with Erie cars some years ago by CarWorks. If you search eBay or other sources they will eventually turn up. Every now and then the NYW&B cars turn up at the NYCMTA meet at Rutgers in October.

Happy hunting!

Nate

Hi Ben,

Yes, that Richardson. My daughter knew he was among my favorites. So when she got the email from the museum she reserved a spot at the book-signing session for me.

I dont recall if the scoreboard had the Ballantine logo, but since it shows the Longines it just might.

Hey John K,

Thats where we live now! I live right off Gedney Way and drive the overpass everyday! My father is the director of Operations for the City of White Plains and he had the right away designated as a greenway so it could not be developed as he is a fan of the NYW & B. We have alot of artifacts from them, as the Gedney Coal Yard, which is across the street from Sam's, is city property. I have tie tacs, spikes and other stuff from it...

Cincytrains.....you are lucky! You can go exploring whenever......I lived in the Bronx 1953-75. I wish I knew about the NYW&B back then. I would have done more exploring. Now I just get a snippet as I pass through town!

 

Peter

Hi Nate

I see the Carworks cars on ebay all the time but at 400 a pop I think I will wait for somebody to do them in ABS   The Transit show falls on a bad weekend this year  Same as York

One former NYW&B MU is reportedly still extant in Peru. The car has been modified from its original appearance; however, the heritage is unmistakable. Photos of the car can be seen toward the bottom of the page linked below:

 

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=67976&start=345

 

Among the modifications are removal of the center door.

 

There have been discussions within preservation circles concerning getting the car back home.

 

Bob

 

  

IS THE EAST 3RD STREET STATION IN MOUNT VERMIN NOW THE AUTO AGENCY I COULD SEE FROM THE NEW HAVEN LINE?

New pictures (new to me, anyway) of the Westchester Avenue Station in the South Bronx.

 

 

 

 

So sad to see this elegant building in such bad shape.

 

Peter

I just noticed in the 1st picture, that is the #6 going over the Bronx River before the turn into Whitlock Avenue.

 

Peter

Here a walk in the Bronx along the old NYW&B.....the Dyre Avenue Subway.

 

http://forgotten-ny.com/2012/0...ton-railroad-part-1/

 

http://forgotten-ny.com/2012/0...ing-the-nywb-part-2/

 

 

That Forgotton New York website is amazing!

 

Peter

Thanks for keeping this thread alive, Peter. I just spent a very informative and relaxing hour reviewing the first link, and am anxious to contintue after 'cuse/Marquette.

I wish somebody would make some Stillwells

I came across these links when I was searching for info on Freedomland.

 

That's a topic for a whole other discussion!

 

 

Peter

Peter.....this is a great thread.  I don't know why I missed it when it first started but glad I found it...!!  Thanks for the great pictures and read!!

 

Alan

Thank you, Alan.....this is one of my favorite RR topics.  If you have driven on I-95 in New Rochelle, you've driven on its right-of-way.

 

Petr

If any of you are interested in meeting Bob Bang who has authored 2 books on the NYW&B Railroad and also the book Forgotten Railroads of Westchester County, NY we should be meeting with past and present railroad employees at his home in Greenwich, CT towards the end of April. Let me know and I will tell Bob if you can make it to his home.

 

Ed G. (Along The New Haven Line of Metro-North and Amtrak in New York State)

That would be great.....but impossible to do with what I have coming up.

Thank you, Ed, for offering to set it up.

 

Peter